A little girl is wondering in a magical garden. The garden is full of flowers and beautiful trees. She observes the peaceful garden and feels relaxed. She is walking and at the end of the garden she notices a stair that leads to a beautiful beach. With every step that she makes to approach the beach she feels more and more relaxed. She feels calm, content and relaxed. When she reaches the beach she sits there and she draws a circle. Nothing outside this circle can hurt her. Even so the girl did something unusual. She began to cry…I admire eastern philosophies that teach inner transformation and tranquility. Something that requires a sacrifice that for most people is hard to handle. That is the freedom from attachments. One of the teaching of Buddha and his major philosophy is that human suffering ends when one becomes free from the attachments that cause him to feel loss, anger and despair. Because I acknowledge what eastern philosophies have to offer I can’t help to be critical of certain aspects of it.
Imagine then a world that everyone would be free of attachments. Imagine a world where everyone would experience a state of nirvana and would have achieved high levels of enlightenment. Nirvana is “mode of being that is free from mind-contaminants such as lust, anger or craving; a state of pure consciousness and bliss unobstructed by psychological conditioning. All passions and emotions are transformed and pacified such that one is no longer subject to human suffering.”
Although I understand its value it sounds so boring to me. The greatest thinkers, the greatest works and achievements have been created because some people have experienced misery, sadness, lust, anger and emotional upheavals. I think that one should not forget that all emotions exist for a reason and life is about experiencing emotions even if they are exaggerated sometimes. Even sadness can help us appreciate and distinguish happiness. For me what is described as a pacified emotion resembles an emotional prison or dullness. All emotions are experienced by all of us and they signify that we are alive. What I do value concerning eastern teachings is Zen and the importance of enjoying silence. However, no one can determine what can bring happiness or stop human suffering as my happiness is not your happiness, my suffering is not your suffering. There can’t be a universal law.
(photography by citizen four "the balance")
8 comments:
I agree with you, I despise the emotion-free teachings of Buddhism. What would we become, a hive-like society, with no emotions? That's why I prefer mediterranean and generally pagan religions: they accept pleasures as a normal way of life, not like Judaism-based ones which promote misery and Asian-based that reject any emotion at all.
Τι είπες ρε Pixie πάλι...
ειδικά στο τέλος ο τρόπος σκέψης με τον οποίο κατέληξες...
απλά υποκλίνομαι..
@storm
that was exactly my point
@narita
σε ευχαριστώ τόσο πολύ που διάβασες το άρθρο μου.Αν κρίνω απο τα περιορισμένα σχόλια φαίνεται να είναι ένα δύσκολο θέμα.
δυσκολο δεν ξέρω σιγουρα πολύ ενδιαφέρον το κάνει ο τρόπος σκεψης σου..ξαναλεω ειδικα το τελευταιο ότι "my happiness is not your happiness, my suffering is not your suffering."..τόσο μα τόσο απλό αλλά απίστευτα ουσιώδες και θεμελιώδες.
Ξαναυποκλίνομαι (έχω πιαστεί λέμε)
I agree with you. One should not escape from his emotions, he/she should embrace them. In my opinion, the true peace comes from experience. As you become wiser, you are less affected by life's hardships. Though, I think emotions should be either controlled, or transformed into beneficial actions. Or else you may become a slave to them. You must decharge them somehow.
Ωραίες σκέψεις!
Καλησπέρα,γλυκιά pixie!
Όπως πάντα, όμορφες και φιλοσοφημένες σκέψεις συνοδευόμενες με την κατάλληλη φωτογραφία.
Ευχαριστούμε pixie!
@gorgi
I think like you that experience can provide inner peace if used wisely.
@gitsaki , ggk
Σας ευχαριστώ πολύ.Χαίρομαι που περνάτε βόλτα απο το blogoσπιτάκι μου!Μάκια
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